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INVESTIGATOR: Landis, A.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA 29634

ANALYSIS OF NUTRIENT FLOW FROM FARM TO GLOBE USING AGRICULTURAL SOIL WATER SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION (ASWAE) FRAMEWORK

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The overarching goal of this project is to develop a multi-spatial-scale framework to better enable technology and policy analysis for nutrient management to produce more agricultural products using agricultural soil water sustainability evaluation (ASWSE) framework. Our framework will improve the understanding of sustainable production of agroecosystems while retaining needed ecosystems services. The proposed Agricultural Soil Water Sustainability Evaluation (ASWSE) Framework developed herein will bridge previously disparate modeling approaches to nutrient management, including local fate and transport modeling, nutrient input-output analysis at the watershed and national scale, regional environmental impact assessment (e.g. global warming, eutrophication, acidification, smog), and national and global resources scarcity. The proposed ASWSE framework will enable an improved understanding on the impacts of nutrients in the regional, national, and global context. The ASWSE framework developed herein will enable long-range improvement in and sustainability of U.S. agriculture and food systems. A scenario analysis of state, federal, and international biofuel policies will aid decision makers in understanding the impacts of biofuel policies on nutrient scarcity, global warming, eutrophication, acidification, smog and aid in prioritizing technology and management solutions. This study will create a bridge between nutrient consumption practices and nutrient management solutions from small technological solutions to global impacts in an effort to minimize environmental burdens caused by the increase in nutrient consumption associated with agricultural production.

OBJECTIVES: This research will develop a multi-spatial-scale framework to better enable technology and policy analysis for nutrient management to produce more agricultural products using agricultural soil water sustainability evaluation (ASWSE) framework. Our framework will improve the understanding of sustainable production of agroecosystems while retaining needed ecosystems services. The ASWSE developed herein will bridge previously disparate modeling approaches to nutrient management, including local fate and transport modeling, regional nutrient input-output analysis, regional environmental impact assessment (e.g. eutrophication potential and global warming), and national and global resources scarcity.This research will link nutrient recovery, reuse, and control technologies to regional and national impacts resulting from nutrient consumption and evaluate issues of nutrient availability and scarcity at the national and global scale. Finally, we will use policy scenario analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the impacts of policies and agricultural management strategies. The specific objectives to be achieve through this project are to:Develop and integrate stochastic N & P models and metrics with GHG emission guidelines from managed soils that easily can integrate into LCA and are spatially explicit and agriculturally relevantCreate estimates of nutrient flows and P scarcity within domestic consumption and international trade for commodities as well as manufactured food productsAssess the implications and potential for a range of control technologies, management strategies, and policies.

APPROACH: This project consists of modeling efforts and policy/outreach/dissemination efforts, each of which have different methods.Modeling:We will use three modeling approaches that individually address nutrient flows at different scales, but when combined enable us to estimate nutrient impacts from 'farm to globe'. The data inventory created by our county to watershed level 'Net Anthropogenic Nitrogen and Phosphorous Input' (NANI/NAPI) models will simultaneously provide estimates of spatially-explicit environmental impacts related to N & P flows and provide data to the 'National Multi-regional input-output life cycle analysis' (MRIO-LCA model). Similarly, the NANI/NAPI and MRIO-LCA models will provide data for the global nutrient flow analysis that we will create using material flow analysis (MFA) methods. This bridge between county-level data and national to global accounting tools brings a much needed spatial estimation to LCA models in addition to enabling agricultural models such as NANI/NAPI to estimate large-scale systemic socio-economic-environmental impacts.Policy analysis, Outreach, & Dissemination:We will utilize the model framework to conduct scenario analysis of policies and nutrient management strategies with the aim of evaluating nutrient impacts and scarcity due to human activities. Scenarios will be created from the benchmarks or targets set forth in existing or proposed policies and the impacts of achieving the biofuel policy goals will be assessed within the framework. We will also evaluate a range of control strategies from farm (e.g. installation of wetland buffers around farms and watersheds) to food commodity 'end-of-life' (e.g. the use of nutrient recovery and recycle technologies at wastewater treatment facilities) in a similar manner. Finally, we will conduct workshops to both vet and validate the framework with stakeholders. The research team will collect both written and verbal feedback from the participants, which will be used to 1) improve the framework before final release and 2) generate more ideas for new scenarios.

PROGRESS: 2017/05 TO 2021/04
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The official project kickoff meeting will occur this spring. A U.S. county/watershed-scale model for Net Anthropogenic Nitrogen Inputs is in the final stages of development, and development of an analogous model for Net Anthropogenic Phosphorus Inputs will occur in the late spring and summer. Integration of the outputs of these models into a national-level N&P supply chain LCA will begin within this reporting period as well.

IMPACT: 2017/05 TO 2021/04
What was accomplished under these goals? Work on the project is just beginning, and no major goals have been accomplished yet. The student lead hired for the project has been working on literature review and getting acquainted with relevant modeling software.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2017/05 TO 2021/04
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2017/05/01 TO 2018/04/30
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The official project kickoff meeting will occur this spring. A U.S. county/watershed-scale model for Net Anthropogenic Nitrogen Inputs is in the final stages of development, and development of an analogous model for Net Anthropogenic Phosphorus Inputs will occur in the late spring and summer. Integration of the outputs of these models into a national-level N&P supply chain LCA will begin within this reporting period as well.

IMPACT: 2017/05/01 TO 2018/04/30
What was accomplished under these goals? Work on theproject is just beginning, and no major goals have been accomplished yet.The student lead hiredfor the project has beenworking onliterature review and getting acquainted withrelevant modeling software.

PUBLICATIONS: 2017/05/01 TO 2018/04/30
No publications reported this period.